Times Union photo by STEVE JACOBS, 5/3/03, Albany,NY-- EDUCATION SUPPORT - NYC resident and actress from the hit show "Sex in the City", Cynthia Nixon,center, awaits her turn to speak and express her support for education funding in the State Budget rally on the Empire State Plaza, Saturday, May 3,2003 (for story) 5 of 6 photos ORG XMIT: MER2014032407153729

Photo: STEVE JACOBSS

Times Union photo by STEVE JACOBS, 5/3/03, Albany,NY-- EDUCATION...

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Actress and activist Cynthia Nixon speaks during a rally in support of the Women's Equality Agenda on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, at West Capitol Park in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) ORG XMIT: MER2014032407144625

Actress and activist Cynthia Nixon speaks during a rally in support...

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Actress Cynthia Nixon and top education officials pushed for more funding for schools during a Monday morning press conference at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren/Times Union)

Actress Cynthia Nixon and top education officials pushed for more...

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Actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon talks to people before a press conference to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon talks to people before...

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Advocacy Director for the Alliance for Quality Education Zakiyah Ansari speaks during a press conference with school superintendents, academics and other officials to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. Emmy Award-winning actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon is seen at right. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Dr. Michael Hogan, Associate Dean of the College of Education, Information and Technology at Long Island University, speaks during a press conference with school superintendents, academics and other officials to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. Emmy Award-winning actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon, left, and Billy Easton, Executive Director of the Alliance for Quality Education, listen in the background. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Larry Spring, Superintendent of Schenectady City School District, speaks during a press conference with school superintendents, academics and other officials to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. Emmy Award-winning actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon, left, and Billy Easton, Executive Director of the Alliance for Quality Education, listen in the background. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Bill Samuels, founder of New Roosevelt and co-founder of Effective NY, speaks during a press conference with school superintendents, academics and other officials to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon speaks during a press conference with school superintendents, academics and other officials to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon speaks during a press conference with school superintendents, academics and other officials to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon speaks during a press conference with school superintendents, academics and other officials to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. Advocacy Director for the Alliance for Quality Education Zakiyah Ansari, left, and Fairport Central School District Superintendent William Cala stand in background. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon speaks during a press conference with school superintendents, academics and other officials to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Billy Easton, executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education, points to a chart during a press conference with school superintendents, academics and other officials to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. Standing in the back from left are Emmy Award-winning actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon, Fairport Central School District Superintendent William Cala, Bill Samuels, founder of New Roosevelt and co-founder of Effective NY, and Dr. Michael Hogan, Associate Dean of the College of Education, Information and Technology at Long Island University. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon speaks during a press conference with school superintendents, academics and other officials to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Billy Easton, Executive Director of the Alliance for Quality Education, speaks during a press conference with school superintendents, academics and other officials to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. Emmy Award-winning actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon stands in the background and Advocacy Director for the Alliance for Quality Education Zakiyah Ansari stands at podium with Easton. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Actress and education advocate Cynthia Nixon speaks during a press conference with school superintendents, academics and other officials to push for more funding for schools Monday, March 24, 2014, at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

With just a week remaining until the deadline for the approval of the state budget, a host of education issues were back in focus at the Capitol on Monday — behind closed doors and in front of the media.

As legislative leaders and Gov. Andrew Cuomo met in private, advocates for increased support for public education made a last-ditch effort to push for a $1.3 billion boost in funding — the sum requested months ago by the state Board of Regents. Cuomo's budget proposal calls for an increase of $807 million.

"The leadership of this state does not want to engage on the topic" of funding inequality across the state's school districts, said Billy Easton, executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education. The group, which is supported by teachers unions, has been among the most vocal calling for increased spending.

Even so, Monday's rhetoric from AQE was especially sharp, with Easton accusing Cuomo of mounting "diversion after diversion" to distract from conditions that advocates say have led school districts to the edge of insolvency.

"Gov. Cuomo's education policies have been disastrous," said Easton, backed by education leaders including Superintendent Larry Spring of the City of Schenectady School District. " ... The Legislature can and must intervene."

Also on hand was actress Cynthia Nixon, the former "Sex in the City" star who in recent years has made periodic visits to Albany to back Cuomo's agenda on same-sex marriage and the Women's Equality Act. On Monday, she said that the governor's recent educational initiatives had disillusioned her.

Media: Times Union
Tax credit opponents, March 24, 2014

"This is not the Andrew Cuomo I voted for," she said. " ... I voted for the Andrew Cuomo who said that stuff about how educational inequality is the greatest civil rights issue facing us, and how it's the state's responsibility to fix it. I want him back."

In an email, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said the governor's priority "is providing education funding based on the number of students it helps, not growing the education bureaucracy to serve the demands of the special interests."

A few hours later, another set of advocates gathered to oppose the Education Investment Incentive Act, which would provide tax credits to individuals, corporations or partnerships that make donations to public, charter or religious schools. The $500 million proposal, which has knocked around the Legislature for several years, was a late inclusion in the state Senate's one-house budget resolution. The credit was talked up last week by Cardinal Timothy Dolan during his annual budget-season visit to Albany.

"To put this on top of what is already inadequate (school funding), to drain this kind of money off state revenues just should not stand in this budget year," said Barbara Bartoletti, the League's legislative director.

Azzopardi said Cuomo is supportive of the concept behind the tax credit, "and wants to work with legislative leaders on it in the budget."

The tax credit was not included in the Assembly's one-house resolution. "I think that's something the governor put on the table, but I'm not sure that it's a viable option," said Speaker Sheldon Silver, like Cuomo a Democrat, after emerging from a negotiating session in the governor's office.

Senate leaders Dean Skelos and Jeff Klein met separately with the governor earlier Monday and told reporters the conversation had been productive, with prekindergarten funding and charter school support among the topics covered.

One item, however, wasn't raised by any of the three men at that session: the governor's proposal to expand higher education offerings for the incarcerated.

All parties have expressed confidence that the budget can be passed by Monday's deadline, although it seems increasingly likely it will involve "aging" the bills for the required three days over the weekend, followed by a furious round of bill-passing on Monday. Cuomo has expressed a reluctance to grant the Legislature the messages of necessity that would waive the three-day aging period.